The fire was extinguished at 6:20 a.m. local time, the agency said in a statement, about an hour after confirming that firefighters were on the scene. Background radiation levels were normal and fighting has been suspended, authorities said earlier.
In a Facebook post early Friday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately shelling the power plant.
“Russian tanks are firing on nuclear power plants equipped with thermal imaging cameras. They know what they’re shooting at. They were preparing for this (attack), “Zelenski said in the publication, adding that” our boys keep the nuclear power plant safe. “
The very fact that Russia has launched an attack on the plant is an extremely dangerous act and could cause a potential catastrophe, he said.
“No country but Russia has fired on nuclear power plant reactors. For the first time, for the first time in history, “he said, urging European leaders to” wake up now “and stop Russian forces” before turning into a nuclear disaster. ” “
The plant, near the town of Enerhodar in southeastern Ukraine, did not suffer any critical damage in the attack, a spokesman for the plant, Andriy Tuz, told CNN on Friday, adding that when firefighters first arrived, they were blocked by Russian troops.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Ukraine’s regulator had told the organization that there had been no change in reported radiation levels and that the fire had not affected “basic” equipment.
United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said the United States has activated its nuclear incident response team and is monitoring developments in consultation with the Department of Defense, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the White House.
The plant’s reactors are closing “safely,” Granholm said as he called for an end to hostilities near the facility. “Russian military operations near the plant are reckless and must be stopped,” she said.
The IAEA announced on Twitter on Friday that it had set up its center for incidents and emergencies “in full 24/7 response mode due to a serious situation”.
US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed the situation in separate talks with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky early Friday. According to statements from London and Washington, the leaders called on Russia to cease hostilities and allow full access to emergency services.
Johnson will request an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council in the coming hours, and the United Kingdom will immediately raise the issue with Russia and close partners, the statement said.
The plant was attacked
Warnings of an attack on the facility surfaced early Friday morning, with video of the scene showing shots apparently aimed at the facility in Zaporozhye before dawn.
“The Russian army is shelling the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, on all sides,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter.
A large number of Russian tanks and infantry “broke through the checkpoint” to Enerhodar, a few kilometers from the Zaporozhye power plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, according to a statement from the supervisory body.
The flames can also be seen in video, although it was not clear for some time where the fire was or the scale of the threat to the facility.
The Zaporozhye plant contains six of the country’s 15 nuclear power reactors, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The facility represents one-fifth of Ukraine’s average annual electricity production, according to Energoatom, Ukraine’s nuclear power operator.
In an interview with CNN on Thursday, Grossi of the IAEA said the agency was in “constant contact” with Ukrainian counterparts to ensure the safety of facilities in Ukraine.
“What makes it unprecedented is that, for the first time in history since World War II, we have a full-fledged military operation among … a large number of nuclear facilities, including nuclear reactors,” Grossi said.
“There is always a danger of military activity that could affect sites or there may be an interruption or disruption in the normal operation of any of these facilities, which could lead to a problem or accident,” he said.
Zaporozhye is located about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of the city of Donetsk within one of the two pro-Moscow territories recognized as an independent state last month by Russia.
The UN resolution addresses the nuclear threat
On Thursday, IAEA member states adopted a resolution calling on Russia to suspend operations against nuclear facilities in Ukraine, diplomats said.
The resolution, led by Canada and Poland and backed by 26 other countries, condemned “Russia’s aggressive activities and attacks on nuclear facilities in Ukraine, as well as the seizure and takeover of nuclear facilities,” said British Ambassador to Vienna Corinne Kitsel.
Only Russia and China voted against the resolution, according to the Czech Foreign Ministry.
This is not the first nuclear reaction threatened by the Russian invasion. On the first day of the attack, Russian forces took control of the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, causing a disaster that directly or indirectly affected 9 million people due to radioactive materials released into the atmosphere.
The IAEA said Ukraine had informed it that personnel detained at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant had been facing “psychological pressure and moral exhaustion” since Russian forces took control of the site a week ago, according to an IAEA statement.
In a joint call to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Ukrainian government, regulator and national operator said staff at the facility should be allowed to rest and change so that their important work can be done safely and securely.
Caitlan Collins, Sam Fosom, Julia Hollingsworth, Pete Muntin, Travis Caldwell, Steve Almassi, Akansha Sharma, Masha Angelova, Hira Humayun and Philip Wang contributed to this report.